Cultural competence: a key component for training global citizens

[EN] As globalization continues to make cross-cultural interactions more of a reality, the need to develop the cultural competence of students and staff is imperative. The University of Sydney has included cultural competence in its 2016-20 strategic plan, necessitating the embedding of cultural competence across all functions of the University. The National Centre for Cultural Competence (NCCC) at The University of Sydney was created to lead the thinking on cultural competence, which includes creating teaching and learning resources to guide University students and staff on their cultural competence journey. In this paper, we discuss a cultural competence seminar developed and delivered by the NCCC to students participating in a broader program designed to educate and prepare them to be global citizens. We will examine the efficacy of our approach to cultural competence training with this particular cohort of students. http://ocs.editorial.upv.es/index.php/HEAD/HEAD18Mchugh-Cole, A.; Russell-Mundine, G.; Simons, R. (2018). Cultural competence: a key component for training global citizens. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 777-784. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD18.2018.8083OCS77778

Delayed gratification in New Caledonian crows and young children: influence of reward type and visibility

Funder: FP7 Ideas: European Research Council; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011199; Grant(s): 3399933Funder: Royal Society of New Zealand Rutherford Discovery FellowshipAbstract: Self-control underlies cognitive abilities such as decision making and future planning. Delay of gratification is a measure of self-control and involves obtaining a more valuable outcome in the future by tolerating a delay or investing a greater effort in the present. Contextual issues, such as reward visibility and type, may influence delayed gratification performance, although there has been limited comparative investigation between humans and other animals, particularly non-primate species. Here, we adapted an automated ‘rotating tray’ paradigm used previously with capuchin monkeys to test for delay of gratification ability that requires little pre-test training, where the subject must forgo an immediate, less preferred reward for a delayed, more preferred one. We tested New Caledonian crows and 3–5-year-old human children. We manipulated reward types to differ in quality or quantity (Experiments 1 and 2) as well as visibility (Experiment 2). In Experiments 1 and 2, both species performed better when the rewards varied in quality as opposed to quantity, though performed above chance in both conditions. In Experiment 1, both crows and children were able to delay gratification when both rewards were visible. In Experiment 2, 5-year-old children outperformed 3- and 4-year olds, though overall children still performed well, while the crows struggled when reward visibility was manipulated, a result which may relate to difficulties in tracking the experimenters’ hands during baiting. We discuss these findings in relation to the role of contextual issues on self-control when making species comparisons and investigating the mechanisms of self-control

Symptom- and Laboratory-Based Ebola Risk Scores to Differentiate Likely Ebola Infections.

Rapidly identifying likely Ebola patients is difficult because of a broad case definition, overlap of symptoms with common illnesses, and lack of rapid diagnostics. However, rapid identification is critical for care and containment of contagion. We analyzed retrospective data from 252 Ebola-positive and 172 Ebola-negative patients at a Sierra Leone Ebola treatment center to develop easy-to-use risk scores, based on symptoms and laboratory tests (if available), to stratify triaged patients by their likelihood of having Ebola infection. Headache, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, nausea/vomiting, loss of appetite, and conjunctivitis comprised the symptom-based score. The laboratory-based score also included creatinine, creatine kinase, alanine aminotransferase, and total bilirubin. This risk score correctly identified 92% of Ebola-positive patients as high risk for infection; both scores correctly classified >70% of Ebola-negative patients as low or medium risk. Clinicians can use these risk scores to gauge the likelihood of triaged patients having Ebola while awaiting laboratory confirmation

Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task.

The ability to make profitable decisions in natural foraging contexts may be influenced by an additional requirement of tool-use, due to increased levels of relational complexity and additional work-effort imposed by tool-use, compared with simply choosing between an immediate and delayed food item. We examined the flexibility for making the most profitable decisions in a multi-dimensional tool-use task, involving different apparatuses, tools and rewards of varying quality, in 3-5-year-old children, adult humans and tool-making New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides). We also compared our results to previous studies on habitually tool-making orangutans (Pongo abelii) and non-tool-making Goffin's cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana). Adult humans, cockatoos and crows, but not children and orangutans, did not select a tool when it was not necessary, which was the more profitable choice in this situation. Adult humans, orangutans and cockatoos, but not crows and children, were able to refrain from selecting non-functional tools. By contrast, the birds, but not the primates tested, struggled to attend to multiple variables-where two apparatuses, two tools and two reward qualities were presented simultaneously-without extended experience. These findings indicate: (1) in a similar manner to humans and orangutans, New Caledonian crows and Goffin's cockatoos can flexibly make profitable decisions in some decision-making tool-use tasks, though the birds may struggle when tasks become more complex; (2) children and orangutans may have a bias to use tools in situations where adults and other tool-making species do not

Active targeting of gold nanoparticles as cancer therapeutics

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are of increasing interest for their unique properties and their biocompatability, minimal toxicity, multivalency and size tunability makes them exciting drug carriers. The functionalisaton of AuNPs with targeting moieties allows for their selective delivery to cancers, with antibodies, proteins, peptides, aptamers, carbohydrates and small molecules all exploited. Here, we review the recent advances in targeted-AuNPs for the treatment of cancer, with a particular focus on these classes of targeting ligands. We highlight the benefits and potential drawbacks of each ligand class and propose directions in which the field could grow

Carmustine, Etoposide, Cytarabine, and Melphalan (BEAM)–Campath Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for Aggressive Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: An Analysis of Outcomes from the British Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation

AbstractThe role of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) in the management of aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) remains to be defined, but the number of procedures performed continues to increase. We report here the outcomes of allogeneic SCT using carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan (BEAM)-Campath (Genzyme Corporation, Cambridge, MA) conditioning for aggressive NHL as reported to the British Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BSBMT). This retrospective study identified 46 patients who reported to the BSBMT registry as having undergone BEAM-Campath conditioned allogeneic SCT for aggressive NHL between 1999 and 2010. Disease histology was diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL, n = 25), DLBCL/Burkitt lymphoma (n = 5), and T cell lymphoma (n = 16). At diagnosis, the median age was 42.5 (range, 17 to 59), 37 had advanced stage disease (Ann Arbor III/IV), 28 had 2 or more extra-nodal sites of disease, and 23 had elevated lactate dehydrogenase. International prognostic index was high or high/intermediate in 58%. The median number of prior therapies was 3 (range, 1 to 5) and 5 patients had previously undergone transplantation (4 autologous, 1 allogeneic). The median age at transplantation was 44.8 (range, 18 to 59), with 34 patients demonstrating chemo-sensitive disease and 22 undergoing transplantation in first response. Performance score was good in 40 patients and all engrafted with a median of 14 days (range, 11 to 27) to neutrophil recovery. At latest follow-up, 20 patients were alive with 17 in complete remission. Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) developed in 7 patients and chronic GVHD developed in 13 (7 limited, 6 extensive). Five patients died from nonrelapse causes, with a cumulative incidence of nonrelapse mortality of 7% at 100 days and 11% at 3 and 5 years. Twenty-one patients died after lymphoma relapse, with a cumulative incidence of relapse/progression of 51% at 1 year and 53% at 5 years. Disease status at transplantation had no impact on relapse rate. Progression-free survival was 41% at 1 year and 36% at 5 years. Overall survival was 54% at 1 year and 42% at 5 years. Overall, BEAM-Campath–conditioned allogeneic SCT is well tolerated and able to deliver durable disease-free survival to a subset of patients with aggressive NHL. However, the high relapse rates indicate further investigation is needed to identify those patients most likely to benefit

The impact of interventions to prevent obesity or improve obesity related behaviours in children (0-5 years) from socioeconomically disadvantaged and/or indigenous families: a systematic review

BackgroundChildren from disadvantaged families including those from low socioeconomic backgrounds and Indigenous families have higher rates of obesity, making early intervention a priority. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature to examine the effectiveness of interventions to prevent obesity or improve obesity related behaviours in children 0-5 years from socioeconomically disadvantaged or Indigenous families.MethodsSearches of major electronic databases identified articles published from 1993–2013 targeting feeding practices, anthropometric, diet, activity or sedentary behaviour outcomes. This was supplemented with snowballing from existing reviews and primary studies. Data extraction was undertaken by one author and cross checked by another. Quality assessments included both internal and external validity.ResultsThirty-two studies were identified, with only two (both low quality) in Indigenous groups. Fourteen studies had a primary aim to prevent obesity. Mean differences between intervention and control groups ranged from -0.29 kg/m2 to -0.54 kg/m2 for body mass index (BMI) and -2.9 to -25.6% for the prevalence of overweight/obesity. Interventions initiated in infancy (under two years) had a positive impact on obesity related behaviours (e.g. diet quality) but few measured the longer-term impact on healthy weight gain. Findings amongst pre-schoolers (3–5 years) were mixed, with the more successful interventions requiring high levels of parental engagement, use of behaviour change techniques, a focus on skill building and links to community resources. Less than 10% of studies were high quality. Future studies should focus on improving study quality, including follow-up of longer-term anthropometric outcomes, assessments of cost effectiveness, acceptability in target populations and potential for implementation in routine service delivery.ConclusionThere is an urgent need for further research on effective obesity prevention interventions for Indigenous children. The findings from the growing body of intervention research focusing on obesity prevention amongst young children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families suggest intervention effects are modest but promising. Further high quality studies with longer term follow up are required

Silicate weathering and carbon cycle controls on the Oligocene-Miocene transition glaciation

Changes in both silicate weathering rates and organic carbon burial have been proposed as drivers of the transient “Mi-1” glaciation event at the Oligocene-Miocene transition (OMT; ~23 Ma). However detailed geochemical proxy data are required to test these hypotheses. Here we present records of Li/Ca, Mg/Ca, Cd/Ca, U/Ca, δ18O, δ13C, and shell weight in planktonic foraminifera from marine sediments spanning the OMT in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Li/Ca values increase by 1 μmol/mol across this interval. We interpret this to indicate a ~20% increase in silicate weathering rates, which would have lowered atmospheric CO2, potentially forcing the Antarctic glaciation circa 23 Ma. δ13C of thermocline dwelling planktonic foraminifera track the global increase in seawater δ13C across the OMT and during the Mi-1 event, hence supporting a hypothesized global increase in organic carbon burial rates. High δ13C previously measured in epipelagic planktonic foraminifera and high Cd/Ca ratios during Mi-1 are interpreted to represent locally enhanced primary productivity, stimulated by increased nutrients supply to surface waters. The fingerprint of high export production and associated organic carbon burial at this site is found in reduced bottom water oxygenation (inferred from high foraminiferal U/Ca), and enhanced respiratory dissolution of carbonates, characterised by reduced foraminiferal shell weight. Replication of our results elsewhere would strengthen the case that weathering-induced CO2 sequestration preconditioned climate for Antarctic ice sheet growth across the OMT and increased burial of organic carbon acted as a feedback that intensified cooling at this time